Protein Supplements and Protein-Containing Product Use in Ice Cream: A Review

The increasing demand for high-protein diets, driven by health-conscious consumers and global nutritional challenges, has sparked interest in fortifying popular food products such as ice cream with protein ingredients. Ice cream, a widely consumed dessert, typically offers limited nutritional value, particularly in protein content. This review provides a comprehensive overview of protein supplementation in ice cream production, focusing on functional and technological effects of conventional and emerging protein sources. The article critically evaluates milk-derived proteins, as well as underexplored alternatives including plant-based, microbial, insect-derived, and aquatic proteins. It also addresses legislative constraints, sensory and textural challenges, and formulation strategies for optimizing product quality and consumer acceptance. The integration of proteins into ice cream not only enhances its nutritional profile but also offers potential for market innovation aligned with sustainability and health trends. However, the successful incorporation of these ingredients into ice cream systems requires navigating complex challenges related to formulation performance, sensory quality, regulatory compliance, and consumer acceptance. Functional variability, sensory trade-offs, and limited industrial validation continue to hinder mainstream adoption, especially for novel protein sources. Future advances will depend on a deeper mechanistic understanding of protein behavior in multiphase frozen matrices, as well as the development of formulation strategies that reconcile nutritional value with sensory appeal.